From Squandering to Vintage

Banana Republic, Express, and New York & Company, just to name a few, were my vices. In my mid twenties I was newly single and making pretty good money. If it was the weekend, I was at the mall in one of those stores. This went on for a few years. Life took a sudden turn and when I went up several dress sizes, I decided to keep the clothes until "I lost the weight."   

Five years later when I was packing up my home in order to start a new adventure across the country, I found myself in front of ten 50 gallon industrial size trash bags full of the clothes that I was suppose to be able to fit back into. They were piled up above a closet and completely forgotten about. Going through the bags of clothes I was full of nostalgia, at first. As I continued sorting the clothing I noticed that most of the garments were barely worn and some still had the store tags attached. Suddenly it occurred to me that not only did I not lose the weight, but that I had squandered thousands of dollars. 

I went into recovery mode and took the bags to thrift stores in hopes of recuperating some money. The woman at the thrift store said they could only take the clothing that was in season and they only offered a buck or two on some items. I had to get rid of the clothing ASAP, as I was leaving the state soon. Due to the time strain and unsuccessful yard sales, I ended up donating some of the clothes to family and the bulk of it to the Salvation Army. While in the thrift store, I realized that I always assumed that the clothing in these stores were out of style, worn out, but mainly I was hesitant to buy vintage clothing because it was "gross."  Luckily, after washing a few of my first finds I felt the complete opposite.

After my "eye opening" experience, I decided to give the thrift stores a chance. Before I moved across the country, I got rid of most of my clothes, all of my furniture, and decorations. When I got to my destination I purchased most of my wardrobe at thrift stores and never had so much fun finding undiscovered treasures. 

Since then I have been lucky enough to:

1. Save money
2. Switch out my clothes every season 
3. Have peace of mind knowing that the clothes are being recycled and not filling our landfills. 

The pictures below are a few items purchased at thrift stores. 

Cute capris $7.00

Skinny jeans $7.00

Barely used Michael Kors purse with dust bag for $34.00.  

Couch $19.99 and Chair $14.99